


Origins

by BornofFlame



Series: Mythical Box [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma, Gen, Miraculous AU, Miraculous Ladybug - Freeform, i'm now rating all my works teen and up because I want kids to stay away like i'm some old geezer, kwami - Freeform, mythical box au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24193060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornofFlame/pseuds/BornofFlame
Summary: Aidene Alamar is a normal girl, with normal life.Until, helping a strange old man pulls her from her quiet spot in the shadows out into the limelight she never wanted.
Relationships: None currently
Series: Mythical Box [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839295
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5
Collections: Mythical Box AU





	1. Aidene Alamar

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SweetKirbi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetKirbi/gifts).



> For Sweetkirbi, who was the first to read this story, which was on a sad google doc.  
> welcome to the Mythical Box Au. This piece is a pilot, so comment on what you think. Please leave kudos, they make me feel validated. And comments, I use them to improve my work. But don’t if you don’t want to, I don’t want to impose on your causal reading. More info on the mythical box au can be found under the tag #mythical box au on tumblr, or by visiting my tumblr, miraculous-mused.  
> umm, timeline in this au is a bit different. Takes place after Volpina, but in a world where Lila has yet to steal the book. It'll happen, but in a different work, promise.

_ BREAKING NEWS: LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR SAVE PARIS ONCE AGAIN FROM AKUMA VICTIM IN ATTACK ON THE TOWER. _

The news script rolled across the screen as shaky footage relayed what had been going within the first 24 hours of me living here.

I knew that Paris was famous for super villains and heroes, which seemed like a damper on moving here, but that didn’t seem to deter my father.

_ Which means I’ll have to go to school today.  _ I sigh and slip my tablet in my bag, unsure if I’ll need it.

When I get to the kitchen, Dad’s already gone, off to work at his internship at the broadcasting studio. He left me directions to my school, which is only a few blocks away. I get outside without incident and start following the paper, crossing the street in front of a cheery bakery. Inside is a girl about my age, hugging goodbye to the baker. She runs out and trips on a loose stone, landing right in front of me.

“Are you okay?” I hold out my hand and she pulls herself up, laughing.

“Yeah, I’m used to it, that’s me, clumsy Marinette.”

“There was a loose tile. I’m sure you aren’t that clumsy.” 

“Oh, then you definitely haven’t met me yet.” She laughs again and runs off, heading to who knows where.

As she turns out of view, I realize something. She looks an awful lot like Ladybug from the news yesterday.

Probably just a coincidence. 

…

The school is imposing, and due to a few wrong turns, I’m late walking into the class I’ve been assigned.

The teacher is a pretty young woman and she’s kind enough as I come in.

“Class, we have a new student joining us. This is Aidene Alamar, and she just moved here from Marseilles.” 

The class mumbles a hello and I wave nervously. 

“You can sit by Lila in the back.”

I walk to the back of the room, trying hard not to trip. The girl in the back has a nice smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, which are filled with anger.

“You’re from Marseilles?  _ That’s  _ sooo amazing. I went there for a vacation and caught a famous criminal!” Lila smiles even wider and I nod.

“He escaped from the nearby prison right? The one just outside city limits?”

Lila laughs and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Exactly!”

“The nearest prison to Marseilles is Chateauneuf and it hasn’t held a prisoner since the 1800’s. I’m sorry, but there’s no possible way you could have caught any criminals.” I respond, catching her in a lie.

Lila smiles sweetly. “Oh, it must have not been Marseilles then. Do you want the rundown on who to avoid?”

I blink suspiciously and then shrug it off. “Sure.”

“See that girl, with the ponytail? That’s Chloè and she’s obsessed with her appearance, the girl next to her is Sabrina and she’s Chloè’s personal helper. The two boys in the front are Nino and Adrien, don’t worry about them, but Adrien is totally dating me.” Lila sighs and points at two girls sitting behind Nino and Adrien.

“The dark haired girl in pink is Marinette and she’s worse than Chloè. Her friend is Alya and she is a wannabe reporter.”

I nod uncertainly. “I talked to Marinette and she was nice.”

“Well, obviously she was putting on a cover for the new kid. Don’t worry, I’ll be friends with you.” Lila places a hand on my shoulder and squeezes it.

“Lila? Please pay attention.”

I look forward and duck my head, pulling out my history book.

Class is slow and when Mme. Bustier releases us for lunch, I’m the first one out the door. I’ll have a half hour to get home, eat and book it back.

I’m almost home when I pass the bakery. It’s really a cute place and I pause before going in.

“Hello! Are you here for lunch?”

“Yes, Mme….”

“Oh, call me Sabine. What would you like? We have croissants and a few pies left.”

“I’ll just take a plain croissant please.” I pull out a few coins, count up the change and hand it to her. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, now you should be getting back to school.”

I hold the croissant in one hand and push the door open with the other, starting back to the school when an older man catches my eye.

He’s struggling with some groceries and in the blink of an eye, one of the bags has slipped, breaking against the ground. People are watching, but no one is doing anything. I put my croissant in my mouth and walk over.

“Can I help?” I ask as the croissant falls out of my mouth and sadly falls to the ground. Darn.

“Why thank you, young lady.” He hands me the unbroken bag, and starts to gather his groceries.

“Where do you live? I can help you take them home.” I shift the bag and pick up his cane, handing it to him.

“I wouldn’t want to make you late to school.”

“It’s fine really. I’m sure the teacher will be okay with me being a bit late.” 

He smiles and starts to walk, me following him down almost a kilometer to the next subway stop.

“What is your name, young lady?”

“Aidene Alamar. May I ask your name?”

“You may call me Fu.”

“Like the word prosperity? That’s cool.” I say as we get off at a stop, walking back up the stairs to above ground.

“Yes, exactly like that. Well, I must thank you as we’ve arrived.” He gestures to a tall apartment complex, one where the first houses are at least a story up.

“Do you need help carrying it upstairs?”

“No thank you Aidene.”

“Okay…” I set the bag next to him and pull my backpack straps tight. “Bye!” I turn and run, hoping maybe I won’t be ridiculously late to class.

…

“Miss Alamar! What took you so long?”

“I’m sorry Mme. Bustier. I got lost.” I close the door quietly and run to my seat, foot catching the bag by the boy in the front. I nearly trip, but manage to recover, apologizing to him.

“It’s okay, are you?” 

I nod and blush, before finishing my walk.

“So class, onto the fifth chapter in your textbooks, you’ll find a postmodern work of art. I’d like you to write an essay on how postmodern art has an effect on society today.”

…

When school gets out for the day, I start the walk home, only to hear someone shouting my name.

“Aidene! Wait up!”

“Oh, hi Lila. You live this way?” I ask, still walking as she runs up to me. She’s out of breath already and I roll my eyes at her drama.

“No, but my boyfriend lives in this direction and so I was going to walk with you. I noticed you were watching him during class.”   
“Well, we do sit in the back, which reminds me; how come he doesn’t sit next to you if you’re dating?”

“Adrien was already next to the stupid DJ when I moved in. Otherwise, we would totally sit together.”   
“Hmm. Well, this is my bus stop.” The lie rolls off my tongue and I sit on the bench. Lila waves goodbye and I slump against the bench, sighing.

When I am absolutely sure that she’s gone I get up and continue my walk home. I’m passing the bakery again when the two girls Lila warned me about, walk out, the girl with glasses mid laugh as I walk around them.

“Hey wait! Aren’t you the new girl?”

I sigh and turn. “That’d be me.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Alya and this is Marinette!”

“I met Marinette this morning, but it’s a pleasure to meet you.” I hold out my hand and Alya shakes it, a broad smile across her face. Her smile and friendliness are genuine and by the look of the wrinkles around her eyes, she definitely smiles a lot.

“We were just heading to the park, do you want to come?” Marinette’s smile is just as kind and I nod uncertainly.

“Sure. I don’t have anything else planned today. I’ve never been to Paris before, so thanks for the invite.”

“Never been to Paris? Marinette! We have to show her everything!” Alya tugs at my arm and pulls me next to her and Marinette as we start walking down the sidewalk. “You’ll love it here! The Louvre, the Tower and so many other things worth seeing! It’s Aidene, right?”

“Umm. Yes.”

“Don’t worry, you’re gonna to have the best tour of Paris thanks to me!” Alya puts an arm around my shoulders and they steer me away.

…

By the time they’re done, I’m beat. I’ve never hung out with two people that are quite that wild.

Alya ended up getting distracted at the Louvre, and so I got to meet a few other of the classmates, all of whom didn’t seem anything like how Lila described them.

Marinette walks me to my house and as we’re standing out front my apartment building I decide to ask her about it.

“So, what do you think about Lila?”

“She’s a liar Aidene. I hate that she’s gotten away with it, and I can’t prove that she is lying.” Marinette looks visibly angered and I remind myself to never get on her bad side.

“So, you’re not friends?”

“Sacre bleu! Of course not.”

“Ah. Well don’t worry, I saw through her lie.” I smile and Marinette smiles back sadly.

“It’s funny, she got akumatized later that day, into Volpina, and I really found it ironic that she got the power of illusion.”

“Crazy. Hey, do you mind if we exchange phone numbers?” I hold out my unlocked phone and she types in her number. 

“Text me anytime.” 

“Careful with that promise, you might be getting midnight texts from me.” I joke as I walk to the entrance of the apartment complex.

Dad isn’t home yet and I grab an apple from the fruit before heading to my room. My bags were unpacked yesterday when we first arrived, even with the weird phenomenon of the meteor, which I assume was one of the illusions that Marinette must have been talking about.

My violin case is on the ground next to my desk and I kneel, opening the case and pulling it out. I stand and bow to an imaginary crowd before placing the instrument on my shoulder.

The tuning is a bit wrong, but once I’m finished fiddling with it, I rest it on my collarbone and play. 

The room feels too tight and after only a few notes I set down my instrument and stand on my desk to open up the skylight. Once it’s open, I pick up my violin again and play until my fingers ache and my heart doesn't. 

Once I’ve got everything put away, I climb out of the skylight to sit on the roof of the building.

It’s cool out, with the sun fading behind the buildings and painting a burning sunset across the sky.

As I’m resting back on my elbows, a screeching sound echoes from my room and when I stick my head back through the skylight I see my phone is flashing something too small to read from here, and it’s making that awful sound that reminds me of fire sirens.

Akuma alert.


	2. Anka Kusu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anka Kusu struggles with Chat Noir, akumas and her own inexperience. Fenixx is actually nice for once. ONCE.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two, still pilot episode. Please comment and leave kudos, they help me improve my work. Please go look at my Tumblr, miraculous-mused if you're confused about Fenixx's powers. should be under the tag #fenixx

Paris is under attack, Ladybug hasn’t shown up and it looks like Chat Noir is on his own.

I’m watching the footage, feeling bored, the attack is about ten blocks away, when I notice the antique box in front of me.

That wasn’t there this morning.

So stupidly, I pick it up and open it.

A simple ring lays inside, but before I can pick it out, a ball of energy forms, glowing like a miniature sun.

“Holy… !” I hold the box out, and cover my face with my free arm, as it flies around my head, finally coming to a stop in front of me. It condenses into a small creature floating in the air.

“Hello Aidene. I am Fenixx the—“

I shriek and smack at it, no, him, his voice was definitely male. Fenixx swerves out of the way and backs up a bit.

“Aidene, please listen.”

“How do you know my name is?!?” I grab my phone and throw it at him, blindly stumbling back. 

“I am the firebird kwami, which is the kwami of memory and rebirth. And Paris needs you right now!” Fenixx floats forward and gestures to the box in my hand. 

“Do you want to be a superhero?”

I shriek and throw the box at him, grabbing anything I can and tossing it. The kwami sighs and dodges, phasing through my history textbook.

When I run out of things to throw, he tries again.

“Are you calm?”

I nod once, and my hand closes around my stapler.

“Great, because you get to be a superhero!”

“What makes you think I want to be a hero?!?” I throw the stapler and miss, hearing it hit the wall with a thunk.

“Oh come on mortal! Who doesn’t?” Fenixx exclaims.

“Not me! I just moved here, I’m trying to keep on the down low!”

“You’re offered powers and say no?”

I shake my head and frown, fumbling for more excuses. “I’m not superhero material. I can’t even shut down this girl in my new class.”

“Ladybug wasn’t superhero material either, but the Guardian chose her for a reason. It wasn’t anything physical or whether she could stand up to a bully. It was her brain and her kindness. The same goes for you!”

I look at the kwami, dubious. “Not a chance.”

“Please? Just this one time? Like what you humans call a trial run.”

I sigh heavily and pick the box off the ground. “Fine. I’ll try it out.”

Fenixx beams and flies to me, giving me a hug, which is weird since he’s smaller than my fist. 

“Okay, first you have to put on the rings, which are your Miraculous. They give you the powers.”

I slip on the ring in the box and show him the inside. “There’s only one.”

“Hmmm. We can work with one. When you transform, you're going to get enhanced strength, endurance, hearing, etc.” 

I nod and switch the ring to the middle finger on my right hand. “Anything else I need to know?”

“You’ll get a one time special use power. After you use it, you’ll have five minutes before you turn back.”

“Okay, what’s the power?”

“Depends. I’m guessing that you are going to get the yo-yo, which means you’ll have to shout out Lucky Charm to activate it. If Ladybug doesn’t show up, tell Chat Noir to save his Cataclysm to destroy the akuma.”

I steady my breathing and hold out my hand. There’s a pause and Fenixx laughs.

“To activate your powers, say; Fenixx, twice spark. Deactivation phrase is; to ember.”

“Thanks. Will I be able to talk to you?”

“No. But I’ll know everything that’s going on.” 

“Fenixx! Twice spark!” I shout, Fenixx squealing as he goes into the ring. There’s a rush of power and I look at my hands, where fiery energy has grown around them. My hair grows into a braid, curling around my shoulder and almost as quick as it started, it’s over. 

The news is still running on my laptop, the fighting growing closer. I pull the yo-yo off the belt and spin it experimentally.

“It’s a little strange, but I guess it’ll work.” I open the skylight and jump up, launching a bit further than I thought.

“AAHHHHHH!” Getting thrown across Paris isn’t how I wanted to break into this, but I guess this isn’t something you can come into slowly. I toss the yo-yo out, and it wraps around a lamppost, the momentum swinging me out over the rooftops.

I could get used to this. The strength, practically flying. My feet land on a building a bit harder than I expected, but I keep running, keep moving towards where the action is.

Less than a minute later, I see the battle. Chat Noir is still on his own, and it looks like the akumatized person is backing off. When I land on the roof, the akuma glares at me and jumps off.

“Leaving so soon? I wasn’t finished though!” Chat goes to follow, but I throw the yo-yo at him. It whacks him in the back of the head before returning to my hand.

“Wait!” I yell.

He turns around confused. “M’lady?”

“Um, no actually. I don’t know where Ladybug is, but I can help you.” I walk up to him and extend my hand. “I’m Anka Kusu.”

“Hello Fireblossom.” He winks and takes my hand. “And I’m glad to see that I have help.”

I roll my eyes.

_ Great _ . “Have you used your Cataclysm yet? We’re going to need it to destroy the akuma.” I pull my hand out of his and walk to the edge of the roof. “I can’t purify it so you have to destroy it once the object is broken.”

“You’re uptight.”

“Maybe I’m uptight because I don’t want to be here.” I shoot back. Chat Noir shrugs.

“Anyway, the akuma is in his cane. Are you sure Ladybug isn’t coming?”

I show him my yo-yo. “Wouldn’t count on it. I would have gotten something different if she was.” I toss it outward and tug on the string. “Race you!”

I’m already off when his retort comes out. We chase across the skyline, following what looks like to be a spritely old man, who has a cane that’s glowing red.

“So what’s the plan?” Chat shouts as we run side by side. 

“I’m still working on it! What does his cane do?”

“It grows stronger every time he touches or blasts someone with it. The only downside is that it’s making him look older.”

“So we just have to break it?”

“Basically!” He skids to a stop and the old man turns to face us.

“You cannot beat Father Time! Not without Ladybug, and I have already taken care of that!” He waves his cane at us, shooting a blast from it.

“Wait, you have Ladybug inside that cane?!” I flip out of the way and trip on my yo-yo, which is a pretty effective shield when you spin it fast enough. 

“Yeah, the news didn’t cover that Ladybug was here first.” Father Time shrugs and aims the cane at me.

“Get ready!” Chat Noir shouts, jumping in front of me, as he uses his staff to deflect the second blast. 

“Kay!” I stand up, take a breath and throw the yo-yo as high as it will go, “Lucky Charm!”

The rake falls out of the sky, almost hitting Chat, but he steps out of the way as it clatters to the ground.

“A rake? What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Think of a plan, it’s a part of the puzzle.” he picks up the rake and throws it at me. I’m actually surprised when I catch it.

“There’s a PUZZLE?” I cry, looking around at the surrounding area, desperately searching for the answer.

I’m not a planner. I just do, mostly without thinking. Which is probably what the solution is— don’t think.

I throw the rake. It bounces off the ground, pinwheeling through the air, where it hits Father Time. He jumps out of the way and drops his cane to avoid getting hurt by the falling rake.

“Ha! You wasted your Lucky Charm!” Father Time goes to shoot me, but finds his hand empty.

“Did I?” I ask triumphant. I grab the cane with the yo-yo, dragging it so it rests at my feet. I stomp and it cracks down the middle, a black butterfly flying out, fluttering upwards.

“Use your Cataclysm!” I shout, reaching for the rake. Chat Noir jumps for the butterfly and wraps his fist around it, destroying it.

“Pound it!”

“What?”

“Oh, it’s a thing Ladybug and I do. We fist bump after we defeat a villain.”

“Yeah, but how do I reverse the damage everywhere?” I extend my fist and bop his.

“Throw the Lucky Charm and say Miraculous whatever your name is. That should work.”

I shrug and give it a shot. “Miraculous Anka Kusu?”

The rake explodes into flame, dancing around us, putting the city back together, returning people to where they were captured. Father Time turns younger than I expected, his cane repairing.

“Wow, this is—“

“Miraculous?” A voice supplies. Chat Noir breaks into a smile and runs upto Ladybug.

“M’lady! I met a new hero today! This is Anka and I must say, you picked a fiery person to temp.”

“I didn’t pick her Chat.”

I start walking backwards, planning on disappearing before their attention can go back to me.

“How’d you get a Miraculous?” Ladybug pushes past Chat and grabs my hand.

“I don’t know, it was just on my desk at home.”

“You’re gonna have to give it back, I have to return it to the Guardian.”

“Sorry Ladybug, but my kwami said that the Guardian chose me.” My ring beeps and I look down to see the small gem inset shrink a bit. “I have to go, I’m about to transform back. Bye!”

I wave, jump off the roof and throw the yo-yo forward, where it wraps around a chimney, launching me forward like a bottle rocket.

…

By the time I find an alley that’s secluded and empty, the gem in my Miraculous is almost gone. It gives one last warning beep and then I’m myself again, no powers with a kwami in my hands.

“Hey Fenixx, that was fun! When do we do it again?”

Fenixx smirks—can a kwami smirk?— and floats up so we’re face to face.

“Told you that you would love it.”

“Oh whatever, I was giving you a hard time before.” I mutter begrudgingly. “ When do we go again?”

“You have to feed me before I’ll be ready to transform. These things take energy.”

“Okay, what do you like?”

“Chili peppers. Or anything spicy.” 

“We’ll stop by the market on the way home and get you some.” I slip Fenixx into my hoodie pocket, and casually stroll out of the alley. It’s kinda surreal walking home, when I know it’d be so much faster to jump from roof to roof.

When I get home, Dad’s in the kitchenette, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“How was your day champ?”

I look down at the peppers in my hand and shrug. “Pretty unusual, got a craving for peppers and then got attacked by some old dude with a cane.”

“Crazy! Must have been Father Time. Nadja covers the Ladybug stories.”

“Wow, must have been a crazy second day at work.” I grab a glass of water and start making my way down the hall, when my dad calls me back.

“There was a new hero today! Calls herself Anka Kusu.”

I stop and turn around and come back to the kitchen. “Isn’t that Turkish?”

“Yeah, means “Phoenix”. You know, Aidene, your mother almost named you Anka, so you could have a name based on where Mom's grandfather came from. We decided on Aidene when we moved to Marseilles.” Dad looks down at his phone and I can see he has tears in his eyes.

I should have thought more before blurting out a name. It was the first one that came to mind, and it traces back to my origins pretty well. 

“Well, I’ll be in my room.” I mutter, leaving my dad and finally getting to my room.

“What was that about?” Fenixx comes out of my hoodie pocket, gratefully accepting the peppers that I hold out.   
“My mom died about two years ago.” 

“Oh. But you’re living her memory now, right?” Fenixx flits around my head and I wrinkle my nose from the spice of the peppers.

“I guess. I still miss her.” I close my eyes and remember her, cold in a hospital bed, wearing black at a funeral and how Dad had never been the same since.

“I pity mortals. You guys can’t seem to stay alive for long.” Fenixx looks at me and I see his expression change as he realizes what he’s said.

“Aidene, I never finished telling you about your miraculous!” It’s a quick subject change, something I’ve seen people do anytime death comes up. Change the subject, forget the past.

But I can’t. My mom can’t walk through the door anymore and that’s not something to forget. I shake my head.

“Maybe another time, I already have so much homework.” I open my bag and pull out the history textbook, turning to the start of a new chapter.

“History? I can help!” Fenixx lands on my book. I wave him away and look down at the words.

“Please? I’m the kwami of memory, I can make it actually make history sound interesting!” 

“Fine, but don’t shout. The walls are thin.” I let him land on my shoulder as he starts to explain the page in front of me.

It’s around midnight when we get done with homework. As cute as Fenixx is, he’s really only helpful when it comes to my history homework, so now he’s sleeping on my shoulder as I pack up my books and tablet. I lift the little kwami off my shoulder and put him on my pillow as I crawl into bed, making sure my hair doesn’t cover him.

“Good night Fenixx.”


End file.
